


Groot’s New Pet

by thecaptainrabbit



Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Domestic Fluff, Father-Son Relationship, Fluff, Groot gets a pet, Humor, Pet, Swearing, does it go well?, nope - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-26
Updated: 2020-02-22
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:47:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21566338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thecaptainrabbit/pseuds/thecaptainrabbit
Summary: Groot wants an Orloni as a pet!  The guardians may think it’s a bad idea, but Groot is deadset on getting one.  But will it cause more trouble than it’s worth?
Relationships: Drax the Destroyer & Gamora & Groot & Peter Quill & Rocket Raccoon, Groot & Rocket Raccoon
Comments: 5
Kudos: 6





	1. Getting a pet

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Groot (grootiez)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/grootiez/gifts).



> Hey y’all! Well, chapter one is finally here... after weeks of setbacks. I want to apologize for how long it’s taken, and hope you enjoy the fic.

Rocket couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“A freakin’ pet? Why do you want one of those?”

Groot looked down at his feet, mumbling.

“...i am groot…” _..._ _I just thought it would be fun..._

Rocket looked up at the other members of the team. Mantis had offered to take care of the docking procedures while the others had an early midday meal. Their family lunch had been going well until a certain sapling brought up the concept of having a family pet.

“What would you even want a pet for? You can barely take care of yourself, and I’m not letting some poor animal starve to death.”

“I am Groot!” _I would_ too _take good care of a pet, Dad!_

Gamora reached out and held Groot’s hand. “Groot, your father has a point. A pet takes a lot of work, and we all know you tend to be forgetful.”

Peter jumped in on Gamora’s comment. “Buddy, you’re a lot smaller than most pets you can buy anyway. Back on terra, I had a dog for a pet, and he was twice your size!”

Rocket’s ear twitched at Peter’s remark. “I ain’t letting you get turned into a chew toy for some mangy mutt, and that’s final!”

Groot looked up at his father pleadingly. “I am Groot!” _It wouldn’t be a big pet, Daddy!_

There it was. Groot’s secret weapon. He was still only about six months old, but he had grown out of calling Rocket ‘Daddy’ like the toddler he had been only four months prior, opting for ‘Dad’ instead. Rocket had refused to let anyone see it had gotten to him, but Groot knew that the raccoon could never say no to his baby.

Rocket’s glare slackened instantly, and his ears went flat against his head. He definitely wasn’t tearing up. Nope. Not at all.

“Well, uh... what kind of pet would it be, kid?”

To the side, Gamora rolled her eyes. She may be Groot’s kindest parental figure, but when push came to shove, Rocket was an absolute pushover for the little Flora Collosus. 

Groot smiled, his eyes lighting up.

“I am Groot!” _An Orloni, Daddy!!_

Drax spit out his drink in shock. 

“An Orloni?! Where?!”

Quill looked at the thickheaded man quizzically.

“Have you… not been paying attention at all up ‘til now?”

Drax stared back at the half-Terran incredulously.

“Of course I have been. Groot just told the rodent an Orloni has made its way onto the ship.”

Quill held his face in his hands before looking back up.

“No. That’s not what’s been happening at all. You haven’t been paying attention.”

“No, I know Groot just said-“

“No. No. Just stop. Just… stop.”

Gamora interrupted their bickering. “Both of you need to stop! Focus on the actual discussion, for the gods’ sakes!”

Rocket spoke up. “What’s there to discuss? We’re getting an Orloni.”

If Groot’s eyes were lit before, how they were dazzling. Gamora, Drax and Quill looked surprised and much more invested than they had been.

Quill spoke first. “Rocket, that’s a bad idea. Orloni are pests! They get everywhere, and cause all kinds of trouble!”

“Well, that’s true, but we can, I dunno, get a cage or something...” 

“A cage would not work, my mammalian friend. Orloni are crafty creatures and handy escapists, like yourself.”

“Drax, everyone here but Groot is mammalian, not just Rocket. And as for you, he’s got a point. It’ll just escape, or chew through the bars, or-“

“Gamora, I get it! Maybe we should find another-”

“I am Groot!” _I’ll let you name him, Daddy!_

That settled it. The guardians accepted their defeat. No force is the multiverse could ever hope to convince Rocket not to honor his son’s wishes now. Not after not one, not two, but three whole‘ _daddy_ ’s. The crew solemnly looked up the nearest pet shop, and made plans to depart right after lunch. Groot had won.

  
  


Two hours later, the guardians walked home with their new Orloni, Missile. It had taken over thirty minutes just for Groot to pick which one, until Rocket yelled that they were all the same. It had then taken forty minutes for Rocket to pick a name, with Gamora shooting down Arson, Detonator, Bloodbath, and other similar names before Quill suggested Missile, or Missy for short.

The moment the Orloni was set down next to Groot, it dashed off into the ship, and quickly vanished from sight. The guardians sighed as Groot chased after his new pet. ‘Here we go…’ the five adults thought, stepping onto the Benetar, hearing Missy break something that sounded valuable. They may have faced down assassins, warlords and even gods, but this small pet would soon prove the team’s greatest challenge yet.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Missy, the team’s new pet orloni, is causing even more trouble for our heroes. Will disaster befall the guardians?

It had been three long weeks since the guardians had purchased Missy, and it hadn’t taken long for her to cause plenty of trouble. After the first day, they hadn’t managed to catch the sneaky little Orloni, and not for lack of trying. Despite various traps designed by Rocket, and Gamora’s attempts to chase after Groot’s new pet, Missy had evaded them at every turn, wreaking havoc along the way. She had managed to chew through Peter’s favorite _Gear Shift_ shirt, destroy Gamora’s hair care products, eat Drax’s favorite snack, Zarg Nuts, and scare the hell out of Mantis by crawling into her bed in the middle of the night. 

However, the guardian she most tormented was Rocket. From stealing his food, to almost overdosing on his pain relief medication, to just attacking the poor procyon on sight, the Orloni was a constant pain in the ass. The worst thing she had done, though, was chew up the wires in Rocket’s latest bomb. Rocket had been extremely pissed about that particular incident, and had tried to stun the misbehaving critter with his rifle. Peter had a sneaking suspicion that Missy saw the raccoon as a threat to her status as the ‘family pet’, but didn’t dare voice such thoughts for fear of losing a finger or two to a very angry Rocket.

Missy would only stay put when Groot was around, but bolted as soon as she saw another guardian enter the room. He loved to play with her, and thought her bad behavior was extremely funny. She enjoyed spending time with the sapling as well, though these playtimes were rare occurrences. At this point, the other guardians were desperate to get rid of the damn thing, and Peter decided to call an emergency meeting during Groot’s nap time.

“We need to return Missy to the store, guys. I can’t take it anymore and I know you all can’t either.”

Gamora nodded in agreement. “But the only one Missy will come near to is Groot. We need to be sneaky about it.”

Rocket vehemently shook his head. “We ain’t getting rid of her! She’s Groot’s pet, and I- er, I mean, we, promised him a pet!”

Peter was starting to get frustrated with his friend’s refusal to admit that buying Missy was a bad idea. He knew Rocket would do anything at all for his child, but this was getting out of hand, and if it kept up, it may even affect their ability to protect the galaxy.

“Dude, come on! I know Groot loves having Missy around, but she’s more trouble than she’s worth!”

Drax jumped in. “The small beast has replaced you as the most troublesome teammate. In fact, she has caused you the most anguish of all of us, and has destroyed many of our belongings. We must take action before she causes more damage.”

Rocket shook his head. “Come on guys! It’s only been three weeks. Missy just needs time to learn how to be a good pet, and then we can relax. ‘Sides, all she’s really broken is stuff we can buy or fix real cheap, even the bomb wires.” 

The guardians shared a look of surprise with one another. Rocket had plenty of things that made him mad, but the worst one, aside from hurting Groot or calling him an animal, was messing around with his treasured weaponry. For him to be in favor of keeping Missy was no easy feat, even if he had made his son a promise. The raccoon stood up, signalling to the others that he was done discussing the matter. 

“We ain’t getting rid of Missy. Everything’s gonna be ok.”

And that’s exactly when the engines exploded.

The guardians were thrown back into the cockpit by the blast, a huge fire consuming the rear of the ship. They fell to the floor, dazed and confused from the sudden explosion. Gamora was the first to get back up from the floor. She helped Mantis and Drax stand, watching as Peter regained his bearings and began to help Rocket. As the ship’s automatic defenses began to put out the fire, Gamora did a quick headcount of everyone who had been in the room before the blast. She was glad to see none of the others were badly hurt, until she realized with a jolt that one guardian wasn’t in the cockpit with them.

“Where’s Groot? Was he caught in the blast?!”

Peter has seen many things in his life. Space pirates, a flying arrow, a talking tree, an infinity stone, even a living planet. But the most unbelievable sight of them all was the sheer speed at which a genetically and cybernetically enhanced raccoon that had been thrown several yards just seconds ago could jump into a fire. “Rocket wait! It’s not safe!” Peter cried as his friend scampered through the searing flames at blinding speed. Drax jumped in after the concerned father, and in about 30 seconds returned with a panicked procyon and multiple scratches on his arm. His fur singed and his tail lit aflame (which Peter attempted to pat out), Rocket strained to escape Drax’s hold.

“WE GOTTA GO BACK FOR HIM! HIS ROOM WAS NEAR THE BACK OF THE SHIP, WE GOTTA GET HIM!”

Drax tried his best to keep Rocket restrained, at least long enough to come up with a plan to save Groot, but the raccoon wasn’t willing to stop struggling, or screaming increasingly creative swears. Thinking quickly, Mantis managed to grab ahold of his arm, and put him into a deep sleep. 

“Groot… fire… help...” Rocket muttered in his sleep, as Drax gently set him down in his copilot’s seat. 

Peter spoke up. “We need to get to Groot’s room in a way that _doesn’t_ involve almost dying, and we need to do it _fast_. If that sprout dies I’m pretty sure I’m gonna wake up with worse than a turd in my pillow.” 

Gamora was the first to respond. “My enhancements will allow to survive in the fire temporarily. If I can get to the spacesuits, I will have an air supply and a shield against the heat.”

Mantis nodded. “Hopefully the ship will keep the fire from spreading and put it out quickly.”

Moving swiftly, Gamora manouvered around the now-diminished flames, and made her way to the spacesuit storage. Holding her breath, she slipped on the disc and pressed down, coating herself in the bluish glow of the suit’s personal force field. She took a deep breath of fresh air and signaled to Peter that she was okay. Letting the ship continue to put out the fire, the assassin moved toward the door of Groot’s room, and opened it slowly. Inside, Groot was panicking, yelling the guardians’ names and banging his vines against the wall. Gamora scooped the sapling up into her arms and carried him back into the cockpit.

“I am Groot?! I am Groot?! I am Groot?” _What happened?! Why did the ship blow up?! Was Dad playing ‘explosion’ again?_

Gamora placed the little tree in Drax’s arms, as he began assuring him that all was well, while Mantis leaned over to face Rocket in the copilot chair, gingerly placing her hand on his own. “Wake.”

Rocket lept out of the chair, whirling around to face where the fire had been… only to see his son in Drax’s arms. 

“GROOT!” He shrieked, elated to see the flora colossus alive and miraculously unharmed. “I can’t believe it! You’re okay!” 

“I am Groot!?” _Daddy! Are you okay?_ Groot wriggled out of Drax’s loose grip and rushed into his father’s open arms, before noticing the raccoon’s singed fur. 

“I am Groot!” _Dad, you’re all burnt up!_ the sapling yelled, breaking off the hug. “I am Groot?” _Did you blow yourself up again?_

Rocket shook his head. “I ran into the fire trying to get to you. It’s just my fur that’s burnt.” 

Groot shook his head. “I am Groot.” _You should have let Mom get me, she didn’t get hurt._

“I know that!” Rocket yelled. “I just…” The procyon’s ears drooped back. “I thought you were gonna die if I didn’t do something and I panicked. You shouldn’t have to be worrying about me being careful. I’m sorry, kid.”

Groot nodded. “I am Groot.” _It’s okay Dad. I was just worried you got hurt real bad like last time you played ‘explosion’._

Peter leaned over to whisper to Gamora. “Remind me not to let him play ‘explosion’ anymore.”

Gamora giggled. “I’d like to see you _try_ to make Rocket stop causing things to explode, but speaking of that…”

Gamora walked over to her fellow guardians, interrupting their celebration of not having died a fiery death. “We need to figure out what caused the engines to blow up. If this happens again we might not make it out with only our fur singed.

Mantis glanced back at the now-extinguished fire, her eyes lighting up. “I think I know what caused it.”

Rocket looked up at the empath. “Really? I thought you hadn’t ever been on a ship other than Quill’s jackass sperm donor’s weird egg thing.” 

Peter cracked a small smile at the joke at Ego’s expense, but didn’t laugh. He wasn’t quite over that debacle just yet.

Mantis shook her head. “I am not, but I do not have to be to understand what went wrong.”

Curious, the guardians all looked over where Mantis pointed. What they saw was a large, exposed fuel cable… and the burnt body of the orloni that had chewed through it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is a complete rewrite of my original draft. At first, I wanted to do a collection of Missy messing with the guardians, but the action scenes were awful, and I just couldn’t get into it. So I started from scratch with this version. I’m finishing chapter 3, so it should be on here by tomorrow.


End file.
